9 Candles
by Alice Prince
Summary: The Yule Ball is coming up and there is drama in Ravenclaw House. What will happen when Terry Boot dumps Valentine Lynn days before the Ball? Features Valentine Lynn, from my story "The Raven is Eternal".


"Why don't you shut your mouth?!"

"Well excuuuuuuse me, Mr. High and Mighty!"

People in the Ravenclaw common room hastily looked away as the sound of yet another argument between Valentine Lynn and her boyfriend Terry Boot reached their ears.

"Who are you to talk, after you and that Gryffindor girl spent the entire class period making doe eyes at each other?!" Valentine continued.

Terry made a huffing noise. "SHE was the one looking at ME! You have to-"

Terry turned bright red as Valentine cut across him. She crossed her arms as though physically restraining herself. "Riiiiiiight. Like I'm supposed to believe that."

Terry's face reddened to a shade reminiscent of the Gryffindor banners. He seemed to deflate. "Well, believe what you want. It's what you're best at." He let his hands fall to his side. "I'm going to bed."

Without another word, Terry walked away. "Excellent choice! COWARD!" Valentine yelled after him. She fumed for a second, and then her eyes were swimming with tears. She sat down holding her head in front of the fire on her favorite couch.

The common room was completely silent. Talk eventually started up again, but Valentine paid them no mind, and she lost track of how long she'd been sitting there. At some point, her cat Nym jumped on the couch beside her. Valentine pet her, and she started purring.

Luna chose that moment to sit down beside her. "Would you like to talk about it?"

Valentine said nothing. She looked up. "Not in here." She rose. "Let's head to the bedroom."

"All right," said Luna. She rose and followed Valentine and Nym upstairs. Valentine sat on her bed and patted the spot beside her. Luna took it, and Nym took her place purring on Valentine's lap.

"It's been like this for a while now. I think he likes that Lavender Brown from Gryffindor, and he won't tell me. I dunno what he's thinking, but I wish he would just come out and TELL ME!"

Nym looked up at the sudden venom in her voice. Valentine scratched her ears obligingly.

"It sounds like there's more going on," said Luna thoughtfully.

"Definitely," sniffed Valentine. "He just won't say anything. And he hasn't been himself. He's usually very kind to everyone, and he's been really rude lately."

"Rude," Luna asked, "or mean?"

Valentine looked at her. "Mean. Definitely the second one. Maybe he's going through a tough time…and with the Yule Ball coming up, I want to spend it with someone in good spirits. You know as well as I do that if he's like this, neither of us will enjoy ourselves."

"This sounds like something you need to sleep on, but to me, it sounds like he's being a real prat." Luna laid an arm on her shoulder. "Go to sleep. Maybe you'll dream up a solution." She smiled, and opened her arms.

Valentine hugged her. "Thanks Luna." She sat back up. "I think I will."

Luna stood up. "And let me know if I can lend you an ear. I think I have a spare one. Maybe two!" She smiled.

Valentine gave a tired smile. "Thanks Luna. I appreciate it. Night."

Luna smiled again. "Sweet dreams."

Valentine closed the hangings on her four poster, and slept.

Valentine woke up the next morning feeling drained. As she lay in her bed, she reflected on what Luna had said, and couldn't make sense of it. She glanced at her watch. It read 7:37. "May as well get dressed," she grumbled.

Valentine rose and dressed herself. She got to the bottom stair, and looked up. There was a new notice on the bulletin board. Upon further inspection, she saw that there was a Hogsmeade trip that afternoon that Valentine had forgotten about, which happened to be about a week before the Yule Ball.

Anthony Goldstein was next down the staircase. "Happy Hannukah!"

Valentine looked up. "Not quite! Still got a few more hours."

"Hey, I can be excited if I want to. Anyway, I'll see you to light the candles tomorrow night, yeah?"

Valentine smiled. "It's tonight. I should get my cloak." She dashed upstairs, grabbed it and was fastening it on when Terry walked up beside her and said nothing.

"Wanna go with me?" Valentine indicated the sign. "We could try and work things out."

"Walk with me?" asked Terry. "We should talk."

"All right."

Valentine and Terry left the common room together. They walked towards the Great Hall, cloaks fastened tightly. They ate a hasty breakfast, and made a beeline for the Three Broomsticks in town. Once they had their butterbeers, they found a table and sat.

"You've been awfully quiet," said Valentine. She took a long drink from her bottle. "What did you want to talk about?"

Terry took a deep breath, steeling himself. "Look, I want to be fair to you, and I know that you're the kind of person who appreciates directness."

Valentine took another drink and said nothing.

Terry gave her a chance to speak, and when she didn't, said, "You were…kinda right about me and Lavender. In-in Charms."

Valentine narrowed her eyes.

"I guess what I'm trying to say…" Terry paused and took a deep breath. "…is that I don't like you anymore. I like Lavender."

Valentine's eyes started to fill with tears. "I knew it," she murmured, her voice hoarse. "Then why bring me here?" She rose, and with her, came the volume of her voice. "Why not just dump me back at the castle?" She was now yelling. "IF YOU HAD EVEN HALF THE BRAINS G-D GAVE GOYLE, YOU WOULD KNOW!"

Terry was now yelling too. "OH YEAH?"

"YEAH!" Valentine cleared her throat. "I WAS READY TO-TO MAKE THIS THING WORK, BUT YOU JUST SPAT ALL OVER ME!"

"YOU KNOW WHAT, MAYBE I DID AND MAYBE I DIDN'T, BUT AT LEAST I CAN FLY BETTER THAN YOU!"

"OH YOU KNOW THAT IS A PILE OF DRAGON DUNG! WHO MADE THE TEAM? HUH?!" Valentine's eyes narrowed.

"You know what?" asked Terry.

The sudden change in the volume of his voice startled Valentine. "What?" she asked coldly.

"Why don't you go screw yourself! Screw you, and I'm not taking you to the ball anymore," said Terry, not yelling but not whispering either.

"You think this is about the ball?" Valentine started to cry again. She wiped the tears away angrily. "Whatever. You and Lavender deserve each other."

Without another word, Valentine spun on her heel and ran, all the way back to the castle. She thought her tears had frozen on her cheeks, but she didn't care. She just needed to put as much space between her and Terry freaking Boot as she possibly could.

Hardly noticing where she was going, her feet automatically took her towards the library. Noting where she was, Valentine looked up, and saw a deserted corridor. She sat down, and started crying.

Hours passed. Valentine was being shaken by the shoulder. She opened her eyes. It was Anthony. He was kneeling by her side, looking concerned. "Val!" He shook her again. "Wake up! Vaaaaal!"

She opened her eyes. "Huh?"

Anthony sat down next to her. "Want to talk about it?"

Valentine's eyes were still wet. She said nothing, and instead hugged her knees. Anthony sat there with her in her silence until she spoke.

"Terry dumped me."

Anthony looked at her. "Oh. It's not what I was expecting."

"I didn't think you did." Valentine paused. "You know, Luna said something that really made me think about all this." She sniffed and wiped her hand. "She told me that she though he was being a prat."

Anthony laughed. "Yeah, she's right. Look, the bottom line is that he was making you unhappy. I think you should look to be with someone who does the opposite." He leaned over, and held her tightly. "And Luna was right." Valentine looked up into his eyes. They were a really intense shade of blue.

They stayed like that for several minutes. "Hey, let's go see," said Anthony.

"See what?"

"If it's time to light the candles," said Anthony with a smile. "Remember, we need three stars."

They stood up and found a window on the way back to Ravenclaw tower. They gazed out of it. There were more than three stars in the sky. They went back to the common room in silence.

"Where should we light the candles?" asked Valentine.

"At the window, so we can see the sky. Let me get my stuff." Anthony dashed up the stairs, and returned soon with his menorah, candles and some matches.

Valentine giggled when she saw the matches. "You sure you want to use those? Last time you did, you almost burnt down the tower."

"First time for everything," said Anthony briskly, as he put the two candles that they would need, one for the first night and the helper candle known as the shamash.

Valentine held a candle in her hand and Anthony attempted to strike the matches. He failed once, then twice. "Aha! Third time's the charm." He held up the lit match to the shamash and lit it. He and Valentine lit the other candle and said the blessings. The other Ravenclaw students gathered around them curiously.

A little first year piped up. "What are you guys doing?"

Valentine looked at him. "We're lighting the candles. It's the first night of Hannukah tonight." And with that, several other questions popped up from some of the younger students. Valentine and Anthony answered them all. Eventually, everyone was finished asking questions, and got back to their own business.

Valentine turned to Anthony. "Same time tomorrow?"

Anthony smiled. "Sure, but meet me here. I don't want to look for you. I almost asked the teachers for help."

"I promise. Here, tomorrow night."

"Seven?"

"Sure. We can head up after dinner," said Valentine. "Happy Hannukah, Anthony."

"Happy Hannukah, Valentine."

Valentine dreamed a recurring dream that she'd been having for years. It was her, in a wedding dress. She was standing hand in hand with her groom, his face shrouded in shadow, underneath the chuppah, the wedding canopy, at her wedding ceremony. The rabbi held up a goblet of wine, and blessed it.

"And now, if the bride and groom will drink."

The rabbi handed the cup to Valentine, who drank. She passed it to her groom, but before she be sure who it was, she woke up in bed at Hogwarts. Valentine tried to go back to sleep, but failed. She got up, put on a dressing gown, and deciding to go write a letter to her mother, she grabbed some spare parchment and a quill.

 _Dear Mum,_

 _I know I've told you about Terry, but now, I'm not even sure I want to go to the Yule Ball anymore. You know me, I absolutely loathe being alone at these kinds of functions. I could go with Diana, but she's got someone to go with. I don't want to ruin her evening. I figure I'll wait and see if someone asks me, and if they do, I'll go._

Valentine paused, unsure of what to say next. She eventually decided.

 _You were right. Terry was a prat. I dunno what I ever saw in him. Truth be told, I'm glad to be rid of him. Let's hope that I choose someone better next time._

 _Write back soon! Happy Hannukah._

 _Love,_

 _Valentine_

She rolled up her parchment, and decided to send it later.

~~~~~~~~~~  
The next few days were a study in contrast for Valentine. She and Anthony lit the candles every night. Dumbledore even granted them the use of an unused classroom near the Charms corridor, as more than a couple of students from other houses wanted to join in. Even a few non-Jewish students in the school went, if only out of curiosity.

After the sixth night, Valentine decided to hang back to clean up alone. When she was finished, she left the room and was startled to see Diana Tarr looking back at her.

"Hi Diana!" said Valentine brightly.

"Hi Val," said Diana warmly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Who are you going to the Ball with?"

Valentine looked up, startled. "I don't have a partner yet. No one has asked me yet. Why do you ask?"

"I was just curious," said Diana, in a tone that suggested otherwise.

"Diana…" said Valentine. "What're you talking about?"

"Just curious," she said again. "I had heard a rumor about something stupid."

Valentine was struck dumb. "Oh, really now?"

Diana nodded. "Yeah."

Valentine narrowed her eyes. "What about?"

Diana nodded. "That you and Terry split up. I had heard a bunch of different things, but I wanted to hear it from you. Are you ok?"

Valentine looked at her. "I think I am. Luna said some things that I needed to hear. My mum says that he was a prat and that there's plenty of time."

"Time for what?"

"I'll tell you when I figure that out."

Diana smiled. "How do you think you did on that last essay Snape had us writing?"

"I'm not worried. If anyone's really a prat," said Valentine, as they approached the staircase, "it's Snape."

The next morning, Valentine woke up to hear sobbing. She sat up in bed startled. She moved the hangings around her bed aside, to see Padma crying on her bed, with their dorm-mate Lisa Turpin patting her on the back.

Valentine looked over at the two of them. "Is everything all right?"

Lisa shook her head. "We should go into the hallway."

Valentine nodded, as Padma clutched at Lisa's arm. "I'll be back, Padma."

They exited the room, and closed the door.

"What's wrong?" asked Valentine.

"She got turned down by both boys she's asked to the Ball," said Lisa.

"Do you know who?"

Lisa shook her head. "She wouldn't tell me."

"Could I do anything to help?"

Lisa shook her head. "I've got it. You know how Padma gets. I'll take her to Parvati later."

Valentine nodded. "Thanks Lisa."

"You're welcome."

Valentine and Lisa went back into the bedroom, Lisa heading straight for Padma and Valentine to get dressed. She did and was soon back in the common room downstairs.

Anthony looked up at her. "Hey Val, ready for the seventh night?"

Valentine smiled. "It's the eighth night tonight. Remember, the Ball is tomorrow. It's Christmas Eve."

"That's not all that's tomorrow," said Anthony. "It's your birthday right?"

Valentine groaned. "Just don't make another joke about it. I hear too many jokes about a Jew on Christmas."

Anthony laughed as Valentine sat down next to him. "Duly noted." He paused. "I do want to talk to you though."

"Oh?"

"It can wait until later. I'd rather there not be so many people."

Valentine was perplexed. "Why?"

"You'll see."

True to his word, Anthony didn't tell her anything until that evening, after they had lit the candles for a final time. He waited until it was just the two of them, and sat down on the window sill. He patted the stone, and Valentine sat next to him.

"So, what did you want to tell me?" asked Valentine.

"Two things. First the bad news." Anthony took a deep breath. "I got asked to the Yule Ball this morning."

"Who by?"

"Padma Patil. I told her no," he added. "She asked why." He fell silent. The candles were still burning on a nearby desk.

"What did you tell her?" She didn't give him a chance to answer. "But you don't have a partner yet," said Valentine perplexed. "The Ball is tomorrow. What's the good news?"

Anthony smiled. "I-I've been trying to figure out how to tell you, but I can't work out how to do it."

"Well, while you think," said Valentine stuttering, "I-I have something I need to tell y-you as well."

"Let me guess," said Anthony haltingly. "You're not sure how to say it either." Valentine nodded. "Ok, let me see if I can do this now." He took yet another deep breath. "I-I like you."

Valentine was struck dumb. "A-Anthony…" She started trying to talk, but Anthony cut her off. "Please let me finish. I don't know that I could do that if you stopped me now." He cleared his throat. "I like you." This time, he said it with more confidence. He grabbed her hand tightly. "I think I have for a while now."

Valentine tried to speak again. "Anthony…"

This time, Anthony didn't even bother trying to speak. Their faces lit only by the dwindling light of the candles and the moon, he leaned in and kissed her. It wasn't a long one, but Valentine could feel its sincerity. When they broke apart, Valentine gasped.

Anthony looked at her sheepishly. He blushed scarlet. He stayed silent, waiting to see how she'd react. Valentine sat in stunned silence for a moment, and without warning gave Anthony a rib cracking hug, and murmured, "I like you too." She pulled away slightly. They started to speak at the same time. "Will you-"

"Would you like-"

They laughed. "Go ahead," said Valentine.

Anthony smiled, still red in the face. "Will you go to the Yule Ball with me?"

Valentine kissed him lightly on the lips. "I will." She smiled.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Well, here it is. I've had pretty bad writer's block for a while, and I'm glad I was able to break it enough to write this. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, and hopefully, I'll write more in the future. This was truly wonderful. Thanks for reading!


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